US agents roped onto the deck of the tanker Skipper on December 10th.
Orbital data and vessel monitoring information has verified that the crude carrier named Skipper – the first vessel apprehended by the United States for reportedly carrying embargoed oil from the Venezuelan regime – is now positioned near of Texas.
Vantor satellite imagery dated 21 December indicates the tanker is near the port of Galveston, while AIS ship-tracking data from a maritime data service presently positions the Skipper about 80km offshore.
The Skipper was seized by American officials on the tenth of December and has been sanctioned by multiple governments. When it was intercepted, it was incorrectly flying the flag of the nation of Guyana.
This seizure was followed by the interception of a another oil vessel, the Centuries. It – unlike the Skipper – was not under sanctions when it was taken into American control.
US authorities are currently pursuing a third vessel, which has been named by the maritime risk group a risk firm as the Bella 1 tanker. President Donald Trump said yesterday that “we’ll end up getting it”.
Writing on the social media platform X, the TankerTrackers group said the Bella 1 has been “underway for over a month” and, at an average speed of 11 nautical miles per hour, may have “another 28 to 35 days of diesel left unless her speed drops”.
The group added the vessel is “probably traveling south-east towards the South African coast”.
